How long has it been since we were alone like this? Though physically and mentally exhausted, Jung Hwa, who couldn’t miss this good opportunity, took a step forward to get closer to Seo Jun.

“This works out well. I had something to say.”

“Go ahead.”

His unique scent stimulated Jung Hwa’s sense of smell. Thinking this might be her last chance, Jung Hwa immediately denied what she had done.

“It wasn’t me.”

“Then who could it be?”

“How would I know? Don’t tell me you suspect me too, Seo Jun?”

“Of course not. I’m not suspecting, I’m certain.”

“Why do you only believe Eom So Yeon? I was also victimized by Oh Min Jung!”

“You expect me to believe that?”

A charming yet peculiar smile slowly spread across his eyes. But Jung Hwa knew well that expression didn’t have a good meaning.

“What else is hard to believe? You think I intended to kill Eom So Yeon? That doesn’t make sense! Why would I get blood on my hands for someone like her? What do I lack! It’s true, Oh Min Jung did it!”

“No. It must have been you. I rescued Oh Min Jung who was trapped inside the room. Among those left there, only you were outside. How do you explain that?”

“That, that’s…!”

For a moment, Jung Hwa’s vision went dark and she stumbled over her words. The biting question was so sudden that she couldn’t think of a response.

“Anyway, it wasn’t me! Oh Min Jung must have set fire to that building, and I arrived late to the meeting place. When I got there, it had already happened!”

“Is that so? The detective who examined the scene said fingerprints of two people were found on the doorknob of Oh Min Jung’s room, the only room that didn’t burn. One was mine. And the other… who could it be?”

At Seo Jun’s statement, Jung Hwa’s mental strength crumbled beyond repair. Her voice came out muffled as it emerged from lips stuck with bewilderment.

“H-how would I know that?”

Regardless, Seo Jun looked around the quiet surroundings with leisurely movements and snickered.

“Nice here, isn’t it?”

“…”

Jung Hwa’s silence wasn’t very interesting. Cold contempt flashed behind Seo Jun’s smile. For the first time, he thought he might be able to kill someone. Especially since the target was right in front of him.

“Not really?”

Taking out a pen that was tucked in his shirt pocket, Seo Jun spoke again in a low voice. As if still uninterested in her answer, Seo Jun fiddled with the pen, making clicking sounds.

“Right, it’s not!”

Jung Hwa’s gaze shifted to the pen Seo Jun was holding as she squeezed out a response. The sound of the sharp tip going in and out strangely heightened her anxiety.

“That’s too bad. You should like it.”

“?”

“Because you’ll have to go somewhere even worse than here.”

“What are you talking about! Are you joking now? What exactly are you trying to do!”

“What are you trying to do, Jung Hwa?”

Crack!

Seo Jun snapped the pen in half with one hand and stabbed the sharp part into the flowerbed.

“How about that? It goes in well, right? But it’s in the wrong place. This sharp end should be aimed at your tongue that lies as easily as breathing.”

Seo Jun’s low voice was very similar to that of a fierce beast.

“!”

Jung Hwa’s brow twitched as she looked at the pen deeply embedded in the soil.

“If only Seo Jun hadn’t deceived me, I wouldn’t have ended up like this!”

Jung Hwa didn’t stay quiet either. She shouted and rushed at Seo Jun recklessly. But soon she collapsed to the ground with a thud. It was because her balance was shaken due to the alcohol she had drunk at Han Seung Jae’s officetel.

“Looks like you’ve been drinking too. Listen carefully!”

Seo Jun glared coldly at Jung Hwa, who was shaking all over, unable to even get up from the ground.

“Jung Hwa, who always pretended to be meek and obedient in front of me. Did you think I wouldn’t know that you’ve been wearing other men’s perfume when I’m not around? I may have pretended not to notice, but you were just a woman I could cut off at any time, just that much. But now you don’t even look human.”

Seo Jun’s words meant she wasn’t even worth associating with as a lowly creature.

“You bastard…”

Unable to contain her anger, Jung Hwa squeezed her eyes shut. And when she opened them again, her eyes were bloodshot.

“Humans have innate instincts. Those who insist something isn’t true to the end even when it’s killing them. Those who cross lines they shouldn’t for their own desires, yet feel no guilt and boldly blame others. But you’re just trash.”

Seo Jun told her precisely for the first and last time. The reason he cut off Jung Hwa in an instant, her true nature that didn’t deserve to breathe.

“They’re here.”

“What are you…”

Jung Hwa’s head turned involuntarily towards where Seo Jun was looking. In the distance of the parking lot, a black car that looked like a prosecution vehicle and two police cars were speeding towards them.

“N-no way! Th-this can’t be happening! Tae Seo Jun can’t do this to me!”

“Emergency arrest and detention warrant, the whole package. If that’s not enough of a gift, try denying your crimes more in detention.”

“Y-you think I’ll just take this lying down!”

“Go ahead and try if you can. Let’s see what you’re capable of.”

The crime of tormenting my woman. The crime of endangering others too. How to deal with someone who shows no remorse even after instigating such a cruel crime. In a country ruled by law, all we can do is use the law to its fullest extent.

The dark eyes looking down at Jung Hwa were like a biting wind.

Seo Jun and So Yeon arrived home in Nonhyeon-dong around midnight.

The knock was heard just as Seo Jun was applying skin lotion to his freshly shaved face. But as if it had never happened, Seo Jun quickly slid into bed and responded loudly enough to be heard outside the door.

“Just come in!”

A pale face that entered the master bedroom and crossed the bedroom threshold gave a gentle and shy smile.

“Did you shave?”

“Yeah. Thought you might not like it if it’s scratchy.”

“I don’t dislike it. I like Tae Seo Jun in different ways too.”

Pleased by her affectionate tone, Seo Jun spread his arms wide while lying down.

It meant for her to come into his embrace.

“Come here.”

When she was close enough to reach, he grabbed So Yeon’s wrist and pulled her into his arms.

“Oh my…!”

So Yeon had to give her lips too, nestled in his embrace before she could even be surprised.

With a smack, as Seo Jun’s lips moved slightly away from her face, So Yeon bit her inner lip and blushed.

Why does her shy expression look so lovable today of all days?

Seo Jun, his body suddenly heated, tightly embraced her slender waist and lifted his head to look down at So Yeon. It was an incredibly affectionate gaze.

And he moved his lips, which had sunk into dimples, to the side for another long kiss.

“It feels good to be home. How about you?”

Seo Jun whispered in a languid voice into So Yeon’s ear.

“Um… it feels good. Even better thinking we’ll go to our Hyun Woo soon.”

Seo Jun felt a bit annoyed at Eom So Yeon, who slowly rolled her brown eyes and subtly changed the direction of the conversation. He gently bit the round tip of her nose.

“Ouch!”

“I feel left out if you only talk about Hyun Woo. I might not go to Canada.”

“What? Don’t tell me you’re jealous of your son right now?”

“Yeah. Seems like it.”

“So, when are we going to Canada? I want to go as soon as tomorrow.”

According to what they had discussed in the car a few days ago, they should have already left Korea. But that was delayed due to the fire incident, so it was natural for So Yeon to be anxious to bring her son back as soon as possible.

“That depends on what Eom So Yeon does.”

It seemed unlikely there was another father in the world who would use his son as bait, but Seo Jun spoke nonchalantly as if it wasn’t a bad method. So So Yeon, who knew well when Tae Seo Jun’s mouth corners lifted the most, opened her mouth without hesitation.

“Oppa, oppa, oppa, Seo Jun oppa!”

Seo Jun couldn’t help but be swayed by the cute way she called him with her small, plump lips. It goes without saying that this Eom So Yeon was lovable, and even her voice sweetly seeping into his ears was very satisfying.

“When will we… go?”

Seo Jun, who couldn’t miss the eyes persistently following him, chuckled and willingly gave the answer Eom So Yeon wanted.

“Tomorrow, let’s leave tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“So make sure my mind doesn’t change.”

“Like this?”

So Yeon tightly hugged his neck.

“Yes. Just keep doing that from now on.”

Seo Jun answered while subtly twitching his eyebrows.

What is this hot emotion that pierces his heart?

Love…

It was still a word that somehow couldn’t be put on his lips. So his heart ached even more. Seo Jun melted all of that not unpleasant pain into So Yeon’s sweet lips.

The pounding of their hearts mingled until it was unclear whose it was. Their touching body temperatures grew even hotter. The light kisses that had been lingering on the surface instantly locked deeply. The atmosphere also rapidly heated up.

Though he wanted to possess all of Eom So Yeon in one breath, there was something Seo Jun wanted to confirm first. It was okay to be childish just for this moment.

“Me or Hyun Woo.”

“That’s…”

So Yeon couldn’t readily answer the unreasonable demand to choose between the man she loved and the child born from that love. Because both were precious beyond comparison.

As So Yeon exercised her right to remain silent for a while, Seo Jun asked again and again.

While tickling only her weak spots with persistent touches.

Until the stubborn Eom So Yeon gave the right answer.

A little later, So Yeon, who had surrendered to the tickling of his large hands, gave an ambiguous answer. But it was a wise response that couldn’t be better.

“Hyun Woo’s daddy?”

Movie set collapse accident. Confinement at fire scene. We are arresting suspect Yoo Jung Hwa on charges of instigation of murder and attempted murder!

After briefly explaining the arrest reason and Miranda rights, the detectives arrested Jung Hwa and confined her to the Seocho Police Station detention center.

At this time when top actress Jung Hwa’s status was plummeting to the bottom, all she could do, frustratingly, was to beg Han Seung Jae to help her quickly, grasping at straws.

Jung Hwa, who briefly got back her confiscated phone, barely managed to press the call button with trembling hands.

-You managed to call.

Judging by how he answered right away as if he had been waiting, it seemed Han Executive also knew about this situation. Jung Hwa spoke with a forced strength in her anxious voice.

“You said not to worry because you know many people in the prosecution! You promised to block the arrest warrant even if it was issued! How did this happen?”

-Well, you see, the arrest warrant was issued before I could do anything. It’s a complicated matter.

Unlike Jung Hwa, whose insides were burning up, Han Seung Jae’s tone was calm. As expected, he seemed to be watching the fire from across the river as if it were someone else’s problem.

“Stop with the excuses and just send a lawyer quickly!”

Jung Hwa, feeling urgent, raised her voice unknowingly and pressed Han Seung Jae.

-Before that, I have something to ask too. You said it wasn’t you, but clear evidence came out?

He seemed to be referring to the fingerprints Tae Seo Jun had mentioned. But she knew that it couldn’t be decisive evidence if she just glossed over it.

“I-I can explain that when we meet, so please just send a lawyer for now!”

-No. You don’t need to explain. Even if I wanted to help, I can’t for the time being.

It was a promise made just four or five hours ago. Han Seung Jae’s tone, completely ignoring it, was very leisurely.

For good reason, Han Seung Jae, to whom was merely a playground, was the heir to .

As far as conglomerates go, was called a giant among businessmen, with just listing its major brands under it enough to take your breath away. Han Seung Jae’s wealth and influence were that powerful.

She had firmly believed in such a man’s promise, but Jung Hwa’s legs gave out as she now realized she had only been used and discarded.

She knew he was the type to swallow what’s sweet and spit out what’s bitter, but to change his tune already? Jung Hwa shouted so loudly her voice echoed, forgetting she was in a detention cell.

“You, you bastard! There’s something you did to me, you think I’ll just let it go! If I get a blood test right now, you’ll…”

The alcohol Han Seung Jae offered wasn’t normal alcohol. It was alcohol mixed with impurities that would result in at least 10 years in prison if caught in the legal net. Jung Hwa was trying to threaten with that, but it wouldn’t work on Han Seung Jae, who was accustomed to illegal activities.

-Calm down. Sounds like you want to go down with me, but even in the worst case, I’d just get hit with a golf club by my father a few times. But for you, Jung Hwa, your life would be completely ruined. Actually, I have my own circumstances. Somehow my father found out and ordered me on the phone. To absolutely not get involved in what Jung Hwa did.

“!”

Is this what they call a bolt from the blue? Shocked as if a hammer had dropped on her head, Jung Hwa squeezed her eyes shut until the corners disappeared, then opened them and asked.

“How does Chairman Han know about our relationship?”

-I don’t know that either. Anyway, Chairman Tae Seok Ho apparently blew up at my father, telling him to keep his child in check. He’s the major shareholder of our Rian Group.

“Chairman Tae really said that?”

Indeed he did.

Chairman Tae, who knew even the information of those around Jung Hwa, had not only the law firm, but going a step further, foreseeing that Jung Hwa would mobilize all sorts of connections, had meticulously blocked every route.

Like that, Chairman Tae was rumored to be a fearsome figure who, though quiet usually, would uproot completely once provoked before he was satisfied.

-How on earth did that person end up getting involved directly? Did they wrongly provoke Tae Seo Jun? Anyway, it seems Yoo Jung Hwa really pulled the tiger’s whiskers. By now you should understand how the situation is unfolding, so I’ll be going.

Beep, beep, beep…

The call was unilaterally terminated.

And with even her phone taken away by the detective, Jung Hwa crouched in the corner of the detention cell, holding her head in both hands, repeating only these words over and over.

“You bastard! You son of a b****! You crazy f***er! This wretched world and all you good-for-nothing b******s should just go to hell!”

Overcome with rage, Jung Hwa cursed the entire world all through the night.